Sunset Approaches
by Sokanou
Summary: Spoilers up to Ch. 438 - The Akatsuki's mission is nearly complete. They have their prize in sight. The village is scrambled, in disarray. A small force of the remainder is assembled. Akatsuki must be stopped. They will be. Some NaruHina, ShikaTema
1. Explode, Naruto!

**Sunset Approaches**

Disclaimer: Naruto is not my property. Remember that.

Howdy, howdy. I'm gonna give a shot at Naruto, this time around. Oh, and get this, it'll be more than one chapter! Yeah! Let's hope my lazy ass can get into gear to actually finish a longer story. Anyways, don't expect a long chapter. There are bound to be a few mistakes, as I don't feel like reading this right now, but I do feel like uploading it. I like to keep things a bit short, but hey… I may surprise ya xD. Alright, on with the show!

* * *

Everything had been taken from him. This one man, no, this monster, had reached out and ripped all that the young man held dear out of his life. The closest thing to a father that he had ever had was snatched out from under his nose before he even had a clue.

When he couldn't possibly have hurt the boy worse, he did. Like the demon from those many years ago, he struck out at the village… his home. This man, Pein, had accomplished something that not even the demon could. The bastard once again gripped something Naruto loved and destroyed it. Konohagakure had fallen.

Naruto, as valiantly as he fought, was no match for the undeniable power that Pein wielded. His lack of power, lack of ability, caused him to lose yet another. One of his closest friends, intervening just as Naruto was to be taken away, was nearly instantly killed before his eyes.

To make things worse, seconds before, she told him something that nobody had ever told him. He knew that his friends, his mentors cared for him. But she was the first to tell him something like that. She loved him.

* * *

Black. Emptiness beyond anything Naruto ever experienced had washed over him. The darkness spoke to him. It felt his pain, his sorrow. Everything the young shinobi felt, the darkness sympathized with. It comforted him. It covered him. It offered him solace.

"**Together-…"**

'_Together-…"_

Their thoughts spoke simultaneously. Their minds entangled. Their entire beings came together to create a single entity. They were one. Always and forever.

"**We are-…"**

'_We are-…'_

A grin found itself on Naruto's face as he swam in the darkness. He reached out, fingers grazing an object that seemed to materialize from nowhere. His eyes interlocked those within. As he stared into the object, he realized what it was. Naruto had locked eyes with himself. The he in the mirror gazed back, grinning as well. Together, they spoke.

"_**UNSTOPPABLE!!"**_

The empty void of infinite blackness vanished before him, replaced with sickening red. Power flowed through his entire body. Pain flowed alongside it. The final ingredient, a surge of pure, unrestrained hatred, connected the three.

* * *

What was just seconds ago Naruto now stood a being drenched in an aura of blood red. The skeleton of a fox had materialized over the creature. The chakra itself was solidified around him, attaching itself to the skeleton in its back.

It was Naruto, and yet, it wasn't. Everyone knew Naruto. He was a bit of a wildcard. The young, outgoing shinobi always had a smile plastered on his face.

Uzumaki Naruto was someone who would go out of his way to make anyone else's day the best he could. He was caring. He was kind. Although he was a bit of an idiot, he was a genius in his own right.

This couldn't be Naruto.

It simply couldn't.

And yet… it was.

By the time the being's hearing had returned, Pein was done with his speech. It didn't matter. This creature wasn't in a listening mood. It had one purpose. One thought. One goal.

The seal etched into his necklace activated immediately. It was a little back-up added to restrain the fox's chakra in the case that it might possibly overtake Naruto's.

Even Yamato hadn't suspected, though, that it could possibly get this out of hand. Six tails was simply unexpected. Even so, the seal's power reached forth to restrain the demon and lock its power away.

Naruto elicited an otherworldly screech as his paw reached forward and gripped the necklace. In his normal state of mind, Naruto would never destroy something as precious as this.

It was a prize he had won off of Sundae. This trinket had belonged to the Shoddier Homage.

But it was in the way.

The enflamed paw smashed the necklace without a second thought, relieving itself of the burden placed by the seal.

Six tails of blazing chakra exploded forward with the intent to rip the one standing before them into nothing.

It was Pein's turn to die. He always went on about his pain. Pain this. Pain that. As far as the snarling death bringer was concerned, a little more wouldn't kill him.

That's why this demon intended to send him enough to kill him a thousand times over.

"**GRRAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR-!!!!"**

The man named Pein dodged, albeit not easily. The speed that this demon wielded was far greater than that in which Naruto previously wielded.

"This pain… this loss… it has revealed your true power."

A wall of chakra rammed into Pein, silencing him instantly. It crashed over him like a wave called forth by Shinigami-sama himself. For a short moment, Pein couldn't breath. He couldn't see. He couldn't think. But he wouldn't lose.

The smoke dissipated, showing the remainder of Pein's body. Half had been disintegrated by the fox chakra. It was, in a sort of way, funny. Nobody before had been able to defeat so many of bodies under Pein's command. One was the most anyone had ever gotten before being killed by the rest.

Even then, most of the time that one kill achieved was luck. And yet, here, this one young man had completely killed all but this one remaining. Flesh was so weak.

A God doesn't need something as weak as mortal flesh.

"However…"

Pein hadn't anticipated something like this. The Kyuubi's immense power was something that he knew wasn't to be trifled with. Still, Pein hadn't imagined that it would be this monstrous.

The Akatsuki leader had to remind himself that this form was only utilizing six of its tails. How frightening. This was something that he couldn't normally fight. This is something that no one could normally fight.

The possessed body of Yahiko turned, glancing back at the raging beast. It wouldn't bode well to be hit by another attack this soon. The only option now was to fall back.

Naruto, though, was not going to be content with letting his prey escape. After all, it would be a waste to have gotten worked up for nothing. Somebody was going to die. It was going to be Pein.

Releasing another, final growl, Naruto launched himself forward, giving chase to the one of whom he longed to shred into nothing.

* * *

Several of the remaining forces of Konoha arrived on the scene one after another. The first to arrive was a Hyuga and Haruno Sakura, a newly renowned medic among the village's squads. She was trained by the village's leader and greatest medic, Tsunade.

Her first order of business was to stabilize Hinata. From the looks of it, she was gone, dead. But, a skilled and experienced medic such as Sakura could tell that she lived.

"H-how is she? W-will she live?! Is she alright?! She's dead, isn't she?!"

A hysterical Hyuga wasn't something she could deal with right now. The young woman was already exhausted from doing what she could for the rest of the village. Her limit was close. She needed help.

As if sent by a higher being to relieve her, Shikamaru appeared, being held by Shiho.

"Sakura, what's going on? Did Naruto-…"

Her eyes silenced Shikamaru, confirming his theory. Naruto delved into the demon chakra provided by the tenant within.

"Hinata-sama! Hinata-sama!"

Sakura returned her attention to the patient and her badgering guardian.

"Will she be alright?! Medic-san! Medic-sa-…"

His voice strained before halting. Sakura glanced back and smiled slightly, silently thanking Shikamaru. But this wasn't the time. Hinata needed all of her attention, otherwise her condition would worsen.

"Shikamaru-kun, don't strain yourself with your leg as it is…"

Shikamaru stood, holding the Hyuga hostage with his Kagemane. Restraining this pest was the least he could do. Shiho slipped her arm through his, allowing him to lean on her for support.

This was all he could do for the village at the moment. His father and the others sent off on a scouting mission to find Pein. Naruto had run off. The one time that the lazy guy actually wanted to do something, he couldn't.

Shikamaru sighed lightly before his eyes landed on Sakura and Hinata. "How do you think she is, Sakura?"

Her voiced waved viciously. "Don't you start that on me, too."

Sheer surprised made him flinch, causing his captive to follow suit. "S-sorry…"

Now it was the pink-haired healer's turn to sigh. "I'm sorry… just far too stressed out. She'll be fine. After all," she chuckled softly, "I'm on the job."

Seeing the Hyuga had calmed down, Shikamaru released him and sat down. The feeling of helplessness was beginning to piss him off.

Shiho could see his displeasure as clear as day. She could understand, though. "Um, Shikamaru-kun, maybe we should review what we know and what we've learned about Pein. Maybe we can find a weakness, something we can exploit, or something!"

His eyes trailed up to her face. Laughing, he leaned back and stared towards the sky.

'_Something I can do, huh? Thanks, Shiho.'_

"Let's get to work."

* * *

Naruto thrashed violently, destroying the area as he trampled through. His pursuit of Pein had lead him farther away from the village.

His entire body ached for blood. Someone needed to die. Someone needed to suffer. He was going to make sure that the luxury of life was stolen from this fleeing rat.

"**GRAAAAAAAAWWWWRRR… DIIIIIEEE!!"**

One of his tails struck out, missing only barely, yet getting close enough to burn the skin of the target. Pein didn't have the time to look back. He had to get into position to finish this.

His own voice rang through his mind. It was time. This was Naruto's punishment for foolishly following him into a trap. Yahiko spun around and focused his remaining hand.

"Chibaku Tens-"

Two large tails exploded through his chest, shredding the body into pieces and reducing them to ash. All that remained afterwards was the head of what was once Yahiko.

"I win."

Naruto's head turned just in time to see a flash of white light overcome him. Agony burned through his body. Screams erupted forth as the body fell to the ground and thrashed. The blood red chakra sizzled out, flashing away from his body and turning into smoke. What was, a second ago, a creature more fearsome than anything Pein had ever seen, was now a simple young man with blond hair down and out on the ground.

A large hand reached down and gripped Naruto's head, lifting him up. As the boy slowly slipped into unconsciousness, he could clearly see the Rinnegan in his captor's eyes. But what shocked him more was the face.

Naruto, actually, nobody had ever imagined seeing this man again. The young shinobi's heart lurched painfully. Pein had to pay. He had to, especially after turning him into one of his puppets. Naruto's eyes closed and his consciousness slipped.

'_Ero-sennin…'_

* * *

Well alrighty then. Hopefully that start was something worth reading. I hope whoever may have read this enjoyed it and will check back every once in awhile for another chapter. Reviews, positive criticiscm, hell even flaming is welcome. So… yeah… later.

-Sokanou


	2. I'm Coming!

**Sunset Approaches**

Disclaimer: Not mine

Well, can ya believe it? Chapter two! So this is what the big time feels like… It feels nice being on top. Feels nice. Well, everyone, I got some rather nice reviews last chapter. Thanks ^^. It also occurred to me that, that one chapter did better on the first day than either of my Negima one-shots. Let's see if I can't pass 'em with this one XD. Well, time for Round Two… FIGHT!

* * *

For the second time today, Uzumaki Naruto swam in a sea of darkness. It wasn't the same darkness experience earlier. No, this was… different. It felt empty. There was no comforting presence hiding within it.

The voice that spoke to him, spoke with him, was silent. Absolutely no noise could penetrate this void.

Naruto opened his mouth to breathe, finding himself unable. He gripped his throat, struggling for air. Nothing. Was this how his life was to end? Was he to die in a strange, dark place… alone?

It was cold. No warmth survived in this realm. Was Naruto already dead? Could this be his grave? What of Konoha? What of the old lady? Sakura? Kakashi? …Hinata?

Then it hit him. Memories crashed into him, making his head spin in painful circles. A devil had come. He destroyed Konohagakure, Naruto's home.

He stole Naruto's life.

He put everyone the young Uzumaki loved in pain.

He killed one of the shinobi's closest friends, and in front of him.

The rest was a blur of blazing crimson, until.

Ero-sennin.

Naruto's teeth clenched, his heart strained. It hit him like a bus was Pein had done. It was unforgivable. Simply unforgivable. Tears streaked down his eyes as he felt a fire light in his heart.

'_That bastard…'_

Images flashed across Naruto's mind. They contained everything since his graduation at the academy to his last moment of consciousness. Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Hinata, Haku, Zabuza, Kiba, Gaara, Kankurou, Temari, The Sound Five, Orochimaru, Tsunade, so on, so forth.

The memories fed the flame; it spread.

'_That… Bastard…'_

More images flashed. Sasuke's betrayal, Gaara's death, Shikamaru's loss, Lee's pain, Sakura's tears, Tsunade's age, and the fallen village looped in his mind one after another.

His teeth flared as his eyes grew wild. The blond ninja's fists clenched into fists, feeling around for anything to hit.

The flame grew brighter. It began to hurt Naruto's chest. He could feel the pulsing… the pounding. His heartbeat broke the silence.

'_That… That… Bastard…'_

Jiraiya's fatherly smile appeared, shattering the other memories. For a moment, a split second really, Naruto felt at peace. The man who treated him like a son, who watched out for him, who taught him many of life's lessons soothed the ache in his chest.

The image, then, distorted. His goofy grin warped into a dark smirk. His eyes lost their gleam, replaced by the endless void behind the Rinnegan. Dark spires appeared throughout his face and body.

The silence thickened. The only sound, the heartbeat, began to quicken. It pounded furiously, as if wishing to escape its confinement.

'_That…'_

* * *

"**BAAASSTAARRDD!!"**

The sleeping form of the jinchuuriki burst awake, thrashing about. His pain-ridden burning eyes pierced through the dream, exposing reality. The beastly claws gripped the ground, several tails of crimson chakra piercing it as well.

"Quite energetic…"

The confinement in which held Naruto sprung to life, glowing as it began its work. Similar to before, the chakra surrounding the boy thrust outward, burning away and leaving nothing but smoke behind.

Naruto's fell back to the ground, all energy lost. He felt drained, more so than ever before. Disorientation swirled within his head, causing a small headache. His entire body, every muscle, every wound ached.

Panting heavily, he re-opened his eyes and surveyed the room. He was confined in a cage like structure, a few small seals decorating the outside. Any other time and he would've mused about the striking similarity to the fox's container.

His orbs landed upon the form of a short-haired woman. Her cold eyes stared back. There was something about her. Something about her bothered him. Naruto just couldn't put his finger on it.

Then, as if struck by lightning, it hit him. Her cloak! She was adorned in a pitch black cloak, decorated with several red clouds.

'_A-Akatsuki!'_

"I see you are awake, Uzumaki-kun."

If not for his energy being drained, Naruto would have immediately struck back with a verbal strike.

"It seems you were quite the handful for my leader. You decimated all of his extensions. If not for his latest model you may have gotten away."

A nearly inaudible growl collected itself in his throat.

"Ah, I apologize for being rude. I haven't introduced myself. I am God's right hand, Konan. You are to be held here in this confinement until my lord can rest and regain enough chakra to begin the ceremony"

She stepped forth and elegantly ran her fingers along the cage.

"You were nearly more trouble than you were worth."

Silently, she stepped towards the door. This woman, Konan, glanced back at him once before exiting.

Fatigue over came Naruto, his eyes feeling heavier than ever before. The last sight he collected before returning to the darkness was a single origami flower lain before him.

* * *

Sakura fell backwards, exhausted. She felt more mentally exhausted than physically. It had been only a few hours since Konoha fell. The remainder of the village's forces had regrouped at a nearby outpost. Everyone was out of it.

The young medic had done all she could to heal whoever needed it the most. Only a handful of medic remained. Only a handful of ninja, period, remained.

Tsunade-sama was still far too overtaxed and continued resting. Hinata had been stabilized. She wasn't harmed nearly as bad as it seemed. In fact, she simply had a few broken bones, a couple fractures, and the stab wound.

The worst part, the stab, had seemed to hit the vital points, but had actually missed by quite a bit.

Sakura laughed tiredly to herself. The young Hyuga woman sure gave them all a scare. She woke up a few minutes ago and explained what happened.

Shikamaru, whose leg was the last thing she healed, was busy devising a strategy. After Shikaku, Inoichi, and the rest returned from their search for Pein's hideout, they were sent out again to various locations by the young genius.

If his guesses were accurate, it would be quite awhile before the sealing of Naruto's demon would begin. While Pein was certainly exceptionally powerful, according to what Hinata saw and how Pein retreated from Naruto, he wasn't invincible.

With the drastic drop in Akatsuki's numbers, whatever could possibly seal the jinchuuriki away would need quite a bit of chakra.

It was Shikamaru and Shikaku's guess that it would be at a week, or at least a few days. They didn't have long to prepare.

The pink-haired medic could only pray Pein's location would be found. She had full faith in Shikamaru's ability to devise a rescue plan, but with Konoha's forces dissipated so much, spread so thin, she couldn't help but wonder if they could save Naruto.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. They had to. She had already lost Sasuke. She lost Kakashi-sensei. She couldn't lose Naruto too. She simply couldn't.

Team Seven had always been a wonderful family. Sakura always had Kakashi as a father-figure. Naruto always filled the role of her brother, sometimes even closer. Sasuke… she couldn't exactly pinpoint what he meant to her anymore.

"Why", she wondered to herself somberly, "did this have to happen?"

* * *

Naruto stood within his mindscape, standing before the cage in which the Yondaime had sealed Kyuubi. His eyes glared into the vacant cell. The demon scourge who formerly resided within was gone.

Naruto knew why.

The Uzumaki boy slowly approached the murky water and stared within.

The fox hadn't escaped.

He hadn't been taken.

Nor had the Kyuubi been moved.

The reflection stared back, its orange orbs taking in every detail. Naruto didn't know how it happened. He didn't even know when. The fox, Kyuubi no Kitsune, and he had merged.

The whisker-esque slits had widened considerably, appearing as they did when Naruto was under the demon chakra's influence. His clear, sparkling blue eyes had darkened into fiery, passion filled orange ones. The blond hair that he was so proud of, that made him stand out, had shaded itself into a mixture of blond and red, its length also increased.

It had only occurred to him once he left the dank cell and returned to his mindscape that his thoughts were not spoken by him alone. His thoughts contained the deep, raspy voice of the demon he held as his tenant.

"Well fox… you finally got out of that cage." Naruto released a solemn laugh as he continued to stare into the water. "And you land in another one…"

* * *

Nara Shikamaru sat quietly, locked up in his own quarters. Everyone assumed that he was grieving. After all, his mother Yoshino had been killed during the invasion. No, there was no time to grieve.

Shikamaru needed silence.

His mind raced with the thousands of occurrences in the world. The civilians had all gotten to safety; split among Konoha's surrounding villages and towns. That was lucky.

The ninja world was bound to erupt into chaos. One of the five great powers that stood among their world was almost instantly fallen. To the world, it would seem as though Konohagakure simply vanished from the face of the earth.

If anything, they still had Sunagakure, their closest allies. In fact, Shikamaru had sent a courier out towards the village with a message for Gaara. Hopefully, Gaara would oblige and send back-up. Anything, even one or two ninja would be fine.

If worse came to worse, a third great war would rise. That seemed unlikely, though.

The other nations were already knowledgeable of the immense threat presented by the Akatsuki. The illustrious organization was top priority for the world at the moment, especially if it could drop Konoha as if it were nothing.

Shikamaru furrowed his brow and grunted. If he were to look on the bright side, they would find Naruto, free him, defeat the Akatsuki, and rebuild the village. He sighed to himself; also unlikely.

There were too few ninja left for Konoha to be a force as it was before. Also on that note, it would take decades to train capable ninja.

Sadly, he thought to himself, the best option for the remaining Konoha shinobi was to root themselves within their desert allies.

"How troublesome…"

Shikamaru's dark eyes filled with resolve. It was not the time for this. It was time for action. As soon as his father's forces found the enemy hideout, the young Nara would take command. Naruto was waiting on them.

"I'm coming, Naruto."

* * *

Whaddya know, another short chapter. I guess that's just how I roll! I can only hope that this one was worth your time. If it wasn't, fill out Form 2XJ and I'll return said time back to ya. Turns out that I actually like this story, so the probability of it going farther is quite high! Reviews, positive criticism, whatever is welcome. And remember, I'm not one for proof-reading so there are bound to be mistakes. Sorry _

-Sokanou


	3. Guests

**

* * *

**

Sunset Approaches

Here we go with chapter three. This is the most I've been able to crank out before getting bored! I kinda hope I can keep it up. I may actually be able to finish this. Again, last chapter was short, as this chapter likely will be. It all really depends on what I can think up. Just so you know, I'm writing this story as I go XD. Yeah, I know, probably not a good idea, but it's how I work.

* * *

Naruto sat within the seal that had, at one time, encased the demon Kyuubi. The only sound that resonated throughout the mindscape was the dripping of water. The empty cage, as was the rest of this place, had become a getaway. While Naruto was indeed conscious, he preferred to spend his time here, thinking and waiting.

Outside of his mind, he had nothing. The only thing waiting out there was another empty cell and an occasional visit from an Akatsuki member, appearing just to see the dreaded nine-tailed demon of legend's host.

The only ones to have actually spoken were the woman Konan and the giant fish-face who had attacked him several times before. Konan, although his enemy, tried to comfort him with talk of the peaceful world that "God" was going to create. It seemed that he had shared with her the gist of the back and forth between Pein and Naruto about peace.

Fishy, on the other hand, had only spoken of how much trouble Naruto had cost his partner and him. He spoke of the confrontations they had. The blue bastard spoke so familiarly, as if Naruto and he were old war buddies recounting the good old days.

Other than them, only two more visited. They came for nothing but gawking. He hadn't listened, but he could've sworn one of them mentioned Sasuke's name. Sasuke. Tch. Who gave a damn anymore? He was at the very bottom of Naruto's priorities, right underneath "scratch ass".

The blond captive wished, on more than one occasion, that his former tenant were still around, locked in that cage. Maybe then he'd be able to get some decent conversation with someone he knew. Heh, not that the fox had ever gave much concern to anything before.

'_I even miss the threats to eat me…'_

His thoughts had wandered so much in the past couple days that he didn't even notice that the demon's voice remained synchronized with them.

But Naruto wasn't the type to give up. He never was and he never will be. The majority of his time had been devoted to thinking up ways to escape this hellhole.

The boy could feel the immeasurable amount of power hiding within him. The cage that contained his body, though, repelled it. If he even attempted to bring forth any chakra, his demon, his normal, or his sage, it would begin the burning that would sizzle it right away.

As he thought, though, he never gave up. The village, if it could be called that after its destruction, would come for him. They wouldn't let the Akatsuki win! Naruto was positive the old bag was already suiting up to come and bust some heads.

He grinned slightly, imagining the sound of the walls around him crumbling to the Hokage's might.

'_One hit from baa-chan is all it'll take before that clown's face becomes mush!'_

His positive attitude kept him going. His thoughts kept his mind fresh. When he wasn't thinking and hiding in his mindscape, Naruto would do a bit of stretching to keep his body from being reduced into a blob of fat.

Actually, that sounded good about now. Thinking of Lee and Gai, Naruto exited his mindscape to begin his workout.

"Let the power of youth explode from within me."

As he began, his orange eyes gazed out and landed on a visitor, this one, rather unexpected.

Naruto's anger exploded forward upon seeing his guest.

"**YOU!!"**

* * *

"I don't think so, Shikamaru. These people are much more than you can handle. They… they're more than I or any of us can handle! I want to get Naruto back as much as the next guy, but… that man destroyed our village single handedly."

"Hokage-sama, from Jiraiya-sama's notes and research, there are only ten members at a time. Over the past year or so, their forces have deteriorated quite a bit. We know that their leader is unimaginably powerful, and the rest aren't slouches. Quite a few of us have fought these guys before. We know what several of them are capable of."

"Yeah sensei, it's not like we're running in blindly without any knowledge!"

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes. They both had valid points… but…

"Listen, guys, we've lost nearly every shinobi we have. Sure, there were quite a bit out on missions, but… the village is down for the count. We can't afford to lose anymore, especially not a medic nearly as talented as me but with unlimited potential and a tactical genius more talented in strategy than anyone I've ever seen."

The two exchanged glances. Maybe if Kakashi were still around she'd consider it…

A large bird of prey cried out as it flew in through the window, landing gently on Shikamaru's shoulders. He smirked to himself and winked to Sakura, who held a questioning look on her face mirroring the Hokage's.

He'd gone behind everyone's back when he did this, but it was necessary. He'd be punished for it later, but it wasn't anything Naruto couldn't handle for him.

"What if our personally selected squad had back-up?"

Before the woman had a chance to respond, an incredible gust of wind exploded forth, breaking the doors open. Three ninja stepped forward, as if on cue.

Sakura gasped, her eyes widened as they glanced back and forth from Shikamaru and the newcomers. This was the first good news since before the attack.

Tsunade sighed and raised her eyebrow, her voice's tone obviously annoyed.

"Back-up? Say… a Kage?"

* * *

After an explanation and long conversation, consisting of beating Tsunade down again and again, she finally agreed. Of course, as expected, Shikamaru was to report directly to her once they returned with Naruto and Pein's head.

"Shikamaru! I can't believe you did something like this! When did you? How did you? What did you-"

The young genius rubbed his temples as the group marched towards his quarters. This woman had been babbling on with questions ever since they left Tsunade's "new" office.

Shikamaru felt a hard hand pound into his back again and again annoyingly.

"C'mon Crybaby, lighten up! You just got your mission approved! Victory just fell into your lap! The only thing you need to plan now is our victory celebration!"

Kankurou whacked her in the back of the head, hard.

"Temari, this is serious business. These guys were able to defeat Gaara, Jiraiya-sama, and destroy an entire village single-handedly. This isn't something to laugh about!"

She rubbed her head, sending a burning glare into the side of his head.

"You think I don't know that? I was just trying to lighten the mood up a bit."

"Ugh!" Shikamaru groaned loudly, gaining the attention of everyone. "Enough of that, we have a guest to interrogate. He can tell us everything about the Akatsuki, more so than even Jiraiya."

"Bullshit, Nara!"

Shikamaru smirked, enjoying this opportunity to shut the loud mouth desert woman up, and opened the door.

"OH FUCK!! IT'S YOUR DUMBASS AGAIN! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DO **YOU **WANT?!"

Everyone but Shikamaru recoiled out of shock at the sight before them. Though ninja were trained to expect the unexpected, this isn't something they could honestly say they thought they'd ever see.

Sitting on a table before them was a severed head screaming off all sorts of colorful profanity.

"I'd like you all to meet Hidan of the Akatsuki. He's going to give us a bit of info before we storm the gates of hell."

"THE FUCK I WILL!!"

"You don't have a choice. And watch your language." The gruff voice of Yamanaka Inoichi rang out, everyone finally noticing him. "You're going to reveal to me everything I want to know."

Shikamaru's smirk held strong as he explained. "You see, Hidan here has a high tolerance to pain. In fact, if it were still there, he'd get a boner off of it. Instead, Inoichi-san here is going to dive into his brain and fish up some info."

"I'LL FUCKING CHOMP OFF YOUR BALLS IF YOU GET NEAR ME YOU LITTLE FUCKING OLD BITCH!!"

Kankurou stuck a finger in his ear and winced. "He's a loud little… head."

Shikamaru nodded. "I agree. Let me shut him up." Already being prepared, Shikamaru grabbed nearby thread and, utilizing his Kage Nui technique, did a bit of sewing. It was a bit trying, as Hidan wouldn't stop struggling, but after a few minutes of effort, the severed head's mouth was finally shut.

"Inoichi-san, you may begin."

"Thank you, Shikamaru-kun." Inoichi placed his hand against the back of Hidan's struggling skull and activated his technique.

* * *

Naruto rolled on the floor in agony, his chakra sizzling away from his body. As soon as he noticed his guest, his temper flared and chakra tail grew. After the pain was gone, Naruto struggled to get back up.

"Lively as ever."

The voice pissed Naruto off. He hadn't heard it in so long, and the first words he did hear held a condescending tone that flared his temper further.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun? Were you not expecting me?"

Naruto's voice came out as a strained growl.

"You… yo-you're not him… How… **HOW DARE YOU!"**

The form of Jiraiya chuckled darkly at Naruto. He glared down at the boy as he tried with all of his might to rise.

"Your pain has risen to great heights in the past few days. Everything you know is gone. Everyone you know is dead. You sit here in despair, in pain, and await the bitter end."

"**Come to give it to me?!"** Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously as he struggled to hold back his chakra, and his rage.

"I'm afraid the time for that isn't here yet, Naruto-kun. You are a lot to handle. Worry not, though. Preparations are already under way. In just another day or two, I'll have enough chakra."

"**You… You bastard…"** Naruto shakily stood and gripped the bars, his grip squeezing at them as hard as he could muster.

"How amusing! You stand there, unable to do anything but snarl and bear your fangs. Do not worry, though. Your pain will be relieved soon, as will everyone's. Peace is the treasure I've found at the end of this journey. And you are the key to unlock the chest."

Jiraiya's form turned and exited the room. Was he gloating at his victory? Trying to comfort Naruto as Konan had often tried? Was he simply bored? It didn't matter to the captive as he screamed out in his fury.

Naruto couldn't stand this situation. It was almost as if Naruto lead a cursed existence. No matter where he went, no matter who he met, he would bring misfortune to them. For a brief second, he doubted himself and wondered if Pein's way was correct.

Hinata's face as Pein murdered her flashed across his mind, bringing him back from such thoughts. Then, a voice reached out from far within his mind. It was a familiar voice, a dark and deep one. It asked him a simple question. _**'Sacrifice?'**_

Naruto slumped back to the floor. "Thanks, fox…"

* * *

"What have you found?"

Shikamaru's voice rank into Inoichi's ears as he returned from the dark, twisted mind that the unconscious Hidan held.

For the past hour, Inoichi had been swimming inside the vast space it held. That was a place he certainly never wanted to visit again. The Yamanaka would have to look at his best friend's son in a different light now, especially after seeing how he defeated this creep.

Everyone else had been busy doing their own thing. Sakura and Kankurou chatted for most of the time, only pausing to listen to Shikamaru explain how everything was going to go down.

Gaara spoke with Shikamaru for a majority of the wait about what had happened, demanding the whole story. The rest of their speech was planning and preparation.

As for Temari, she was in a mood the entire time. She grumpily sat with her back to Shikamaru. Her pride as one of the most talented strategists in Suna was severely bruised after losing to Shikamaru three times in games that she played often.

"The members of the Akatsuki that will most likely be waiting on us are Deidara, a user of exploding clay." Gaara's face darkened at this. "We will also need to watch out for Hoshigaki Kisame, a former Kiri-nin who has chakra two times larger than a normal Jounin or more. He also seems to specialize in Taijutsu and Suiton techniques."

Deidara would be left up to Gaara. Shikamaru recalled that Gai's team had fought them before. A couple of them would be essential to taking him down.

"There is also Kisame's partner, Uchiha Itachi. You'll have to be weary of his Sharingan, Genjutsu, and vast Ninjutsu."

"Sakura has fought him and given us a bit of information about his style. We also have a good bit of notes from Jiraiya-sama."

Inoichi nodded before continuing. "There is a fellow named Tobi in there who doesn't seem to be of any threat, but… you never know. He _is_ an Akatsuki after all."

"Wait a second! The one we fought while searching for Sasuke called himself Tobi! He is extremely dangerous. He has some sort of time-space jutsu that makes him impossible to hit. Hinata's Byakugan and Shino's bugs lost track of him!"

Shikamaru rubbed his temples a bit.

"Hm… there is a man named Zetsu. He seems to work directly under Pein and has an ability where he can mold into the ground and travel. That's really all this man knew on him. The last pair is a woman named Konan and Pein himself. He didn't know a thing about them. That's… all I could get. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. If that's all there is, than that's all there is. This helps me a great deal. Thank you."

"So what's the plan, Nara?" Temari's eyes searched his curiously, as if trying to get any clue whatsoever.

"First off, I need to see if I can get everyone I need for this mission. Sakura, Gaara, Kankurou, Temari, prepare. You guys need to prepare. Tomorrow, we're bringing Naruto home."

* * *

Just to clear some things up just in case anyone asks, I do know that Deidara and Itachi are dead, but Hidan doesn't know that. Again, this chapter wasn't long, but you're expecting this by now. They set out in the next chapter so look forward to it. I'd really love s'more reviews, but who wouldn't? Anyways… hope you enjoy. I'm out.

-Sokanou


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